Gaming device manufacturers strive to make wagering gaming devices that provide as much enjoyment, entertainment and excitement as possible for players. Providing interesting and exciting primary or base games and secondary or bonus games in which a player has an opportunity to win potentially large awards or credits is one way to enhance player enjoyment and excitement. Another way to enhance a player's enjoyment, entertainment and excitement with a gaming device is by including lights, sounds and other visual or audio or audio-visual effects in the gaming machines.
Certain known gaming devices use mechanical devices such as reels or wheels to enhance the attraction of the machines to players and also to enhance the player's game playing experience. These mechanical devices enable a player to see physical movements of a game, a portion of a game, or a functional game event or element which increases the player's enjoyment of the game.
For example, most known reel-type gaming devices include one set of one or more aligned mechanical reels, such as three to five reels, which rotate about a horizontal axis. The gaming device or player activates the set of reels to indicate symbol combinations on the reels. Other known gaming devices include a plurality of sets of reels. In these gaming devices, the sets of reels may rotate about the same horizontal axis or rotate about different parallel horizontal axes. Furthermore, other known gaming devices include a set of one or more aligned mechanical reels which rotate about a vertical axis. These set or sets of reels may be associated with a primary or base game or a secondary or bonus game of a gaming device. In addition, certain known gaming devices include one set of aligned reels which rotates about a horizontal axis in a base game and one set of reels which rotates about a vertical axis for the bonus game. The different sets of mechanical reels provides the player with different types of displays and thereby increases the player's excitement and enjoyment of the gaming devices.
To increase player enjoyment and excitement, it is desirable to provide new and different mechanical devices which operate in conjunction with primary or secondary games of wagering gaming devices.